NOAH'S ARK.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 69, 23 March 1887, Page 4

NOAH'S ARK.

Tlio Flood au Allegory.

i REV. J. Ashuy, of the Now Church, South- \ pott. England, gavo a very interesting 3 locturo lutoly, on " Noah's Ark." It: infro- , ducing hid subject tho speaker referred to ' tho fact that recent investigation had irmdo 5 it clear to thoughtful men'and women that 1 that part of tho Biblo could not possibly bo understood in a literal and worldly eonso Yet, at tho eamo time, tho groat majority of man wero unaiiccted by tho now movement which had commenced. Every now and again people were astonished by paragraphs in tho nowspapors, that come bold and adventurous traveller had discovered roiunants of Noah's Ark upon porno almost inaccessible mountain. This was all vory well to oxciie curiosity and to mislead tho ignorant, and to bolster up fur a few years lorjger a thoory of Soripturo interpretation doomed to disastrous failure. Ho invited thooaof his hearer.-i who had not parted with thoir common cense and thoir rationality to .examino tho narrative. They wero not to suppose that lie (tho lecturer) rejectod thnt part of tho Scriptures aa being tho ab?o!uto Word of God; not at all, what ho disputed wan the interpretation which men had put upon tho narrative. That which was roally the Word of God must bo without any admixture of error. But (he cliiimtj of tho Biblo as being tha Word of God did not isali upon hittoiial nor scientific grounds, but upon spiritual and religious grounds. Who over maintained that tho account of Noah's Ark was ta bo understood literally must bo prepared to moo 1; tho most ulupoudoua difficulties and improbabilities. And even if they admitted tho miraculous olement it would bo ot such n land aa had no parallel in tho whole of Scripturo. Referring fora moment to tho Flood*itself, »s spoken of in tho namitive, whatever ui'^ht have beon ila nature, it was or.o that WOB universal ; and for apologists to argue thnt tho Flood might have boon a " ltic-U flood " of literal water waa to give up tho atato monts of Scripture, for it «ayn "that all tho high bills under tho whole honvetiß woro covered." I.anguago could not bo more emphatic. but as to its being literal water there was tlio unanswerable fact boforo them, viz , that thoro novcr hn< bom sinco man wan crontci and placed upon tho enrth, sulliciont walor for their purpose. If thoro wero anfliciont water t") do this it would bo drnwnod at this inomont, And ue for the " rain " tpokeu of bring eufljcient to cause (ho ri?o of tho water, it is dilli • cult to coo why it should have rained at all, seeingthut the very clouda thcm-olvos would all havo boon absorbed boforo tho tups ol tho highest mountains wero runcbod ! To oppoeo against this, Divine omnipotence, ii! to give up the argumout. Divina omnipotence always observed tho laws of Divine order, anJ there id no waste of power in its operation*. In order to preserve " sotd alive upon tho earth " it was said that an ark ehou'd bo built, and in it should be received Noah, hi* wife, l'H three coiib. and their wives, together with pairs of all unclean animals and seven of tho clean. Tho ti/o of the ark is Ktatei as about -IJOft. long, 7oft. wide, and 4."> ft. deep - not so large a* eorne ni onr modern steamship?. The difficulty then occurred how were all the animal, tho birds, tt.o reptiles, and ineects to ba got to tho ;:rk ? For of couib ) they mu3t first have been gathered to it before they could enter l!ow was this to bo effected? Two ways had been suggested — (l)By a miracle : (2)Noah, and thoto in his employ, had to go dud catch them In regard to tiio first, what was implied ? That, at a given time, from nil tho ends of tho earth, bird, beast, and insect, and reptile Bhould commonco a journey to a given spot on the earth's surface It would tike somo o!" them years to travel. They would have to come from tho island*, from countries cold and hot, across lakes, ami rivers, and eeas, mountains and lnll->, valleys and plains, deserts and mountains. The Polar boar, tho Kussian wolf, the African lion, tho kangaroo, tho camel, etc. But how could they livo whilst on their Ion? and perilous journey ? They could not carry their food whilst climbing the mountain sido, or swimming thu (empoi tuous deop ! Tho difficulties in thia supposition wars insuperably. Tho other alternative was that Noah .should organiso expeditions to go and catch them, and bring them to tho place of meeting. But were thoy not struck with astauishment at the idea of such an onterpri-o? Going in search uf tho elephant, tho zebra, tho lion, tho rattloenake, tho alligator, tho lark., tho eagle, and tha vulture. And when caoght, how to bring them to tho ark from ovory part of tho'globe! What a number of Vesaols required ; what knowledge of navigation, of geography, of zoology, en!onto logy, ornithology : what years of labour and coil. If thoy only thought for a momont of tho difficulties of providing tho caravans and ships needed to go in eoarch of the animals, birda, otc , and tho sup plies needed, they must bo led to think that tha narrative could not moan them to believe tho liberal interpretation which implied all thtso difficulties. Lot them suppose that by somo inscrutable moans tho cargo of animals and fo forth assembled at tho side of tho ark, with all thoir savago and cruel instincts subdueJ, and thoir foad all provided fnr one year. It would bo found that tho nrk had only thrco stories, one window and one door. And whan thoy were all in and " tho door shut," tho only means of light nnd ventilation would bo tho email opening at tho top ! Talk of tho Bluck Hole of Calcutta ! why tho ark would havo been a thousan 1 ti'uos worse! Again, lot them think of tha work to be performed in connection with tlioso animalj in tho ark for the epaco of twolve months ! It was estimated that thoro are 9000 of tho larger aui male, such as tho olephnnt, tho horco and the cow ; of birds of all kinds, somo 45,000 ; of insects, eomo 900,000. Well, they would require every variety of food, every varioty of temperature, every variety of care and management; there would bo the vessel to look after, household wants to bo supplied. Where wa? tho crow ? Four men ami four women. Up^n thorn would devolvo the labour and tho toil of a thousand, What could be said to such considerations ? Thoughtful Christian men asked this question, not in a spirit of supercilious criticism or unbelief, but in all siticority and earnestness. They had not, howovor, got to the end of the difficulties which attonded the literal acceptation of tho account. Let them imagine all to havo bcoi accompanied so n? to hnvo performed the passage safely to the top of the mountain of Ararat —tho ark stranded there, with all it 3 contents, on one of tho peaks of that lofty mountain— tho waters having gone down and the prieonors all ready to come forth but, alag ! the labour to cot to the ark was simple and ea"y ; how different now. The vevsel is now resting upon the top of an inacceesiblo mountain, somo thousand feet above the lovel nf the eea. Tha upper half being covered wuh perpetual enow and icu. Tho°3 having beco melted by ihe waters on their subsidence 'would again bo frozen to ico. Just think of the animals getting down its sides—down tho porpcn.Jicular rock?—to got to their rovoral homes on the surfaco of tho whole globo. How wero they to return ? Tho world was turned upside down. There would havo boon nothing before them but starvation : for all herbs, grasses, and trees would have beon destroyed— only devastation and desolation would be there ! And amidst such horrora and scenes of woo would tho little household have to go forth to ro-pooplo the world. How improbable nay impossible, was it to think that the interpretion which led to such conclusions was tho true one. Tho rov. gentleman then proceeded to explain tho records according to tho spiritual sonse. Tho things spoken of woro the correspondents of heavenly realities ; thus under tho symbolism of boat - building were conveyod to mankind a knowlodgo of angelic and divine things. In tho directions for tho erection of tho ark they had communicatod to them the knowledgo how to avoid the spiritual dangers which threatoned their eouls. The flood spokon of assailed the eouls of meu in tboso ancient times, and thus denoted tho spiritual dcaolation which then prevailed in tho world. 16 wan a flood which suffocated the lifo of goodneaH within them—the lifo of virtue and of heaven. Universal destruction was at hand, aud the Divine means for the salvation of mankind waa represented by tho account of tho arlc. Tho language also revealed the fact that the Lord at that time established a now church for tho people called " Noah." Every particular related about tho ark, and the animal?, birds, nnd so forth, whilst impossible to be understood in a literal or historical sense, were all true of tho human mind as to its decrees, principles, truth!', affections and thoughts. He drew the conclusion that without tho spiritual fionfo thero w:ic no difference between tho Word , aud profane history. What Bpiritual cr eternal tier, waa it for them to know about an ark, with its window and door and stories, nnd tho animals and birds r nd creep ing things? But having a spiritual and Divine meaning they were of everlasting value to men and r■ *ele. Thus could it bo seen that the Word of the Lord waa perfect, converting the Boul, and the testimony of i the Lord waa sure, making wise the simple, i